Mechanisms of Action Archives

Eye-movement intervention enhances extinction via amygdala deactivation (Journal of Neuroscience)

This article “demonstrates that goal-directed eye-movements, like working-memory tasks, deactivate the amygdala, the core neural substrate of fear learning.”

How Does Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy Work? A Systematic Review on Suggested Mechanisms of Action (Frontiers in Psychology)

Literature review examining EMDR mechanism of action or provided conclusions within the framework of theoretical models of EMDR functioning.

Metabolic and Electrophysiological Changes Associated to Clinical Improvement in Two Severely Traumatized Subjects Treated With EMDR-A Pilot Study (Frontiers in Psychology)

EMDR showed clinical improvement in PTSD symptoms associated with metabolic & electrophysiological changes in limbic and associative cortex.

Effects of Saccade Induced Retrieval Enhancement on conceptual and perceptual tests of explicit & implicit memory (Brain and Cognition)

Results revealed that saccadic horizontal eye movements enhanced performance in only the conceptual explicit condition.

Use of the Flash Technique in EMDR Therapy: Four Case Examples (Journal of EMDR Practice and Research)

Flash technique, used during the preparation phase of EMDR therapy to facilitate processing of intense, traumatic memories.

The Role of Slow Wave Sleep in Memory Pathophysiology: Focus on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (Frontiers in Psychology)

At a neurobiological level, memories recorded during extreme stressful situations cause maximal amygdalar synapses, storing the events.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Slow Wave Sleep: A Putative Mechanism of Action (Frontiers in Psychology)

The slow wave sleep hypothesis tries to explain how EMDR works and is discussed in light of other theories and neurobiological findings.

Grey matter density changes of structures involved in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after recovery following eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy (Psychiatry Research)

Study aimed to determine whether symptoms improvement is associated with grey matter density changes of brain structures involved in PTSD.

Pre-treatment cortisol awakening response predicts symptom reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder after treatment (Psychoneuroendocrinology)

Are treatment successes in PTSD associated with changes in cortisol secretion, assessed by HPA-axis function, before & after trauma therapy?

Exploring expectation effects in EMDR: Does prior treatment knowledge affect the degrading effects of eye movements on memories? (European Journal of Psychotraumatology)

Study designed to test whether expectations about the working mechanism of EMDR would alter the memory attenuating effects of eye movements.

Bilateral alternating auditory stimulations facilitate fear extinction and retrieval (Frontiers in Psychology)

An animal model of fear recovery showed that BLS facilitate fear extinction and fear extinction retrieval, can this work in humans too?

Eye movement during retrieval of emotional autobiographical memories (Acta Psychologica)

This study assessed whether specific eye movement patterns are observed during emotional autobiographical retrieval.

Mechanisms of Action

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